Version 1.0. Effective 1 July 2026. Praxis Mutual.
1. About this document
This Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) is prepared by Praxis Indemnity Insurance Pty Ltd, the insurer, to help you decide whether Praxis practitioner medical indemnity is right for you. It sets out the significant features, benefits and risks of the cover, what it costs, and your rights. A PDS is the document an insurer must give a retail client before the client is bound to a contract of insurance.
Please read this PDS carefully and keep a copy. Your medical indemnity contract is formed by this PDS, your policy schedule and the policy wording read together. The schedule and wording contain the full terms and prevail over any summary in this document.
2. Who the insurer is
Cover is issued by Praxis Indemnity Insurance Pty Ltd, the risk-carrying insurer that holds the capital and pays claims. Member services, advocacy and medico-legal support are provided through Praxis Mutual Ltd, the member-owned mutual that owns the insurer. This mirrors the structure used across Australian medical defence organisations, in which a member-owned mutual is paired with a wholly-owned insurer subsidiary.
3. Significant features and benefits
The cover is designed to provide, among other things:
- Civil liability indemnity for claims arising from the provision of (or failure to provide) healthcare in your practice as a registered medical practitioner.
- Legal representation and costs for disciplinary inquiries, coronial inquests, Medical Board and AHPRA notifications, and other regulatory or professional proceedings, up to the disciplinary sub-limit shown in your schedule.
- 24/7 medico-legal advice so you can speak to a clinician-aware adviser at the moment an adverse event or complaint arises.
- Run-off cover for eligible practitioners who permanently stop private practice, supported by the Commonwealth Run-Off Cover Scheme (ROCS).
- Optional public liability, cyber and privacy-breach and whole-of-practice entity cover, depending on the tier you select.
4. What is and is not covered
4.1 Insuring clauses
Subject to the policy terms, we indemnify you for civil liability for compensation, and associated defence costs, arising from a claim first made against you and notified during the period of insurance, for a covered incident occurring on or after the retroactive date in connection with your practice of medicine.
4.2 Key exclusions
The cover does not respond to, among other things:
- claims arising from incidents before your retroactive date;
- fraudulent, dishonest, criminal or deliberately wrongful acts established against you;
- practice outside your scope, qualifications, registration conditions or any practice not declared to and accepted by us;
- known circumstances or claims you were aware of before cover commenced;
- fines, penalties, punitive or exemplary damages where these are uninsurable at law;
- liability assumed under contract beyond what the law would otherwise impose;
- trading, business or property liabilities better suited to other classes of insurance.
The exclusions are detailed and qualified in the policy wording. Always read the full policy wording and schedule, which prevail over any summary.
5. Claims-made cover, retroactive date and run-off
This cover is written on a claims-made basis. That means the policy that responds is the one in force when the claim is made against you and notified, not the policy that was in force when the incident occurred. To stay protected, you need continuous cover.
The retroactive dateshown in your schedule is the date from which past incidents are covered. Claims arising from work you did before that date are not covered. The retroactive date is usually the date your continuous professional indemnity cover first commenced. Appropriate retroactive cover is central to the Medical Board of Australia’s registration standard.
Because claims-made cover otherwise lapses when you stop practising, run-off cover is needed for claims made after you cease practice for incidents during the insured period. In Australia the Commonwealth Run-Off Cover Scheme (ROCS) provides this tail at no ongoing cost for eligible practitioners who have permanently stopped private practice (for example through retirement, parental leave, leaving the workforce, or death).
6. Limit of indemnity
The limit of indemnity is the most we will pay for a claim and, where stated, in aggregate for the period. Three civil-liability limit options are available:
| Option | Civil liability limit | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Option A | $10 million | Lower-exposure, non-procedural practice |
| Option B (standard) | $20 million | The common standard for medical indemnity |
| Option C | $30 million | Higher-exposure or higher-risk procedural practice |
Where a claim exceeds your chosen limit, the Commonwealth Exceptional Claims Scheme (ECS) can respond to 100% of eligible costs above the limit, so that practitioners in private practice are not personally exposed to a catastrophic tail.
7. Excess
An excess is the amount you contribute towards a claim. Your schedule sets out whether an excess applies, its amount, and whether it applies to defence costs, settlement, or both. A higher excess generally reduces premium; a nil or low excess generally increases it.
8. Significant risks you should consider
- Continuity risk: because cover is claims-made, a gap in cover can leave you exposed to claims for past work. Make sure your retroactive date and continuous cover are right for your history.
- Scope and disclosure risk: if your actual practice differs from what is recorded in your schedule, a claim may not be covered. Tell us promptly when your scope, billings, hours or procedures change.
- Limit adequacy risk: the limit you choose may be insufficient for a very large claim. Consider your specialty, procedures and exposure.
- Excess risk: a higher excess lowers premium but increases what you pay when a claim is made.
9. Cost of the cover
Your premium is risk-rated and then adjusted for levies and taxes. It is built in this order:
- Base premium — risk-rated to your Indemnity Specialty Classification (ISC) band, your annual gross private billings, your hours or sessions (full-time, part-time or new-to-practice), your state or territory, your chosen limit, and your claims history. Higher-risk procedural specialties (such as obstetrics and gynaecology, neurosurgery, spinal and cosmetic surgery) sit in the highest bands and pay multiples of the base.
- + ROCS support payment — a levy of approximately 5% of premium that funds the Run-Off Cover Scheme.
- + GST — 10% on the premium. A practitioner registered for GST can usually claim an input tax credit through their BAS, and must notify us of their entitlement at or before claim time.
- + State stamp duty — calculated on the GST-inclusive premium and varying by state or territory (the ACT, for example, no longer charges general-insurance stamp duty). Stamp duty is itself GST-free.
- = Total payable.
For eligible doctors, the Commonwealth Premium Support Scheme (PSS) can reduce what you pay as a separate subsidy line. You can see how these tiers and adjustments combine on the pricing page. Figures shown there are an estimate to help you compare cover; your actual premium is confirmed on application, once your scope of practice and history are assessed.
10. Cooling-off period
This cover carries a 14-day cooling-off period. Within 14 days of the cover starting, you may return the policy and receive a refund, provided you have not made a claim and no claimable event has arisen. Your schedule sets out how to exercise this right.
11. Your duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation
When you apply for, vary or renew a consumer insurance contract, you have a duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to us. Since 5 October 2021 this duty has replaced the former duty of disclosure for consumer insurance contracts under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). You should answer every question honestly, completely and to the best of your knowledge.
If you do not meet this duty, we may have remedies that could reduce or refuse a claim, or cancel the policy. We bear the onus of proving a breach. If you are unsure whether something is relevant, include it.
12. Dispute resolution
If you have a concern or complaint, the first step is our Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) process, which aims to resolve complaints promptly and fairly. We acknowledge your complaint quickly, keep you informed, and give you a written response with reasons. If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you can escalate it, free of charge, to an independent external dispute resolution scheme, whose determinations can bind us up to applicable monetary limits.
13. Privacy
We handle your personal information, including sensitive health information, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). We collect, use and disclose your information to assess applications, price and issue cover, manage claims and meet our legal obligations. See our privacy policy for full details.
14. Code of practice
We are committed to high standards of service and fair, timely claims handling, consistent with the service and claims-handling standards expected of general insurers in Australia. You can ask us for a copy of the standards we apply at any time.
15. How to make a claim
To notify a matter under your policy, you should:
- contact our medico-legal advice line as soon as you become aware of an incident, complaint, notification or potential claim;
- provide written notice with the relevant facts, dates and documents, without admitting liability or settling without our consent;
- cooperate with us and our appointed legal advisers throughout the matter.
Prompt notification protects your position under claims-made cover. You can reach us at hello@praxismutual.au.
16. More information
Read this PDS together with the policy wording, the Target Market Determination, and the Financial Services Guide. If anything is unclear, contact our team before you make a decision about your cover.